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Unit 28: Conditionals review
What would Dan buy his mum?

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  1. 1 Go beyond intermediate with our new video course
  2. 2 Reported speech in 90 seconds!
  3. 3 If or whether?
  4. 4 5 ways to use 'would'
  5. 5 Let and allow
  6. 6 Passive voice
  7. 7 Unless
  8. 8 Mixed conditionals
  9. 9 The zero article - in 90 seconds
  10. 10 The indefinite article - in 90 seconds
  11. 11 The. That's right - the! Learn all about it in 90 seconds
  12. 12 The continuous passive
  13. 13 Future perfect
  14. 14 Need + verb-ing
  15. 15 Have something done
  16. 16 Wish
  17. 17 Word stress
  18. 18 Different ways of saying 'if'
  19. 19 Passive reporting structures
  20. 20 The subjunctive
  21. 21 When and if
  22. 22 Inversion
  23. 23 Phrasal verbs
  24. 24 The future
  25. 25 Modals in the past
  26. 26 Narrative tenses
  27. 27 Phrasal verb myths
  28. 28 Conditionals review
  29. 29 Used to - review
  30. 30 Linking words of contrast

Session 4

Are native speakers of English always right? Join Tim and his twin brothers Tough Tim and Tolerant Tim for an argument about a common 'mistake' with conditionals

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    Activity 1
  1. Activity 1

Activity 1

Stop Saying

Do native English speakers make mistakes?

It can be confusing when you've studied grammar hard and then you hear a native English speaker saying something that isn't in the rule books. 

One example is this: If I'd have known, I wouldn't have done that. Is it wrong? Watch Tim and find out...

Watch the video and complete the activity

The problem

Native speakers sometimes use structures that are not taught in grammar books. But are they wrong? Opinion is divided. Let's hear both sides of the argument.

It's wrong

As you heard from Tough Tim, some people think that native speakers who use structures that aren't in the rule books are simply wrong. They think it's bad English and, as a learner, you should never repeat those structures as you too will be wrong!

It's OK (man)

Tolerant Tim, however, says that we need to be more relaxed about it. He says that there are many different types of English and in certain dialects different structures exist that you won't find in the grammar books. They are right for speakers of those dialects. 

Conclusion

Whether you agree with Tough Tim or Tolerant Tim, it's probably best if you use a standard from of English for exams and formal situations like job applications and interviews. But if you're talking to friends and want to try out your Liverpudlian or Baltimorese, then good luck!

To do

See if you can 'correct' these common 'mistakes' made by native speakers into standard English 

Non-standard to standard

5 Questions

Choose the corrected version of the sentences

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End of session

That's it for this session. Many thanks to the staff and students of International House, London for their help with this video.

Next

In Session 5 it's time to visit The White Elephant restaurant.

Session Grammar

  • Typical native-speaker mistakes

    • Using 'would have' in both clauses of a third conditional

    If I'd have known, I'd have told him.

    • Past participle mistake

    I have drank too much wine tonight.

    • Using of instead of 've after modal verbs like 'should', 'could' and 'would'

    I should of known he'd be late.

    • Using double negatives

    I don't know nothing.

    • Using less rather than fewer for countable nouns

    There are less people here than I'd expected.

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Session Vocabulary

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